Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini suggested earlier this season that
he should tone down
his aggressive side, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has accused him of
always being "involved in provocation",
while his international manager, Spain boss Vicente del Bosque, described his conduct during the Blues' 2-0 win over the Gunners in September as "unedifying".

So as Costa's Chelsea prepare to travel to Arsenal on Sunday, we look at whether the 27-year-old's reputation is deserved.

Does the myth stack up?

This is a tricky one to prove or disprove.

Does being dirty mean being caught by the officials - and shown a card - or is it more about cynical, off-the-ball incidents which might be missed by referees?

Since the latter are not recorded by statisticians, we can only really judge Costa on those offences he is penalised for.

For a player with such a combative reputation, he doesn't actually make that many tackles when compared with other Premier League forwards.

In two seasons, Costa (28) has made 67 fewer challenges than Alexis Sanchez (95), who tops the list.

And perhaps because he doesn't make that many tackles, he doesn't commit that many fouls either.

His 1.43 fouls-per-game rate leaves him well down the list of all Premier League players, way below Marouane Fellaini, who commits 2.18 fouls per fixture - more than anyone else in the division.

Note: Only includes players with a minimum of 20 appearances

When compared only to strikers in the Premier League over the past two seasons, he is again far from the worst offender.

And, to further suggest he is not as dirty as you might think, he has yet to receive a red card since arriving at Stamford Bridge.

So that's that then... Costa isn't dirty?

It's not quite that simple.

He might not make that many tackles or commit that many fouls, but when he does, they tend to have an impact - either on his opponent or with the referee.

Costa has scored 27 league goals for Chelsea, including seven this season

Despite being so low down the list for tackles made and fouls conceded, Costa jumps to third in a table of the most-booked players in the top flight over the past two seasons, with only two of the division's most combative midfielders ahead of him.

And he is the most-booked forward during that time, with 64% more yellow cards than any other striker.

Tellingly, it takes him fewer fouls to earn a yellow card than any other Premier League forward...

...and only three players in the whole division are booked at a higher rate per foul than the Spain international.

The verdict

In a season and a half in England, Costa has twice been banned for incidents missed by the referee and, despite making relatively few tackles and conceding relatively few fouls, he's the most-booked striker in the Premier League in that period.

He also gets his bookings at a faster rate per foul than any other forward.

He might never have been sent off for Chelsea but in all other areas the reputation Costa has built for being dirty is supported by the stats. So on this occasion...

Watch a game of Ice Hockey. It makes all Footballers look like ballet dancers....oh wait, people respect ballet dancers. Football players are nothing but cheating jokes, Costa included, but unlike 90% of them out there, he shows at least a little character.

Well the majority of managers and players are all foreign anyway which makes the whole game totally pointless and irrelevant so who cares? (Eg. Arsenal. 32/40 are foreign) Bring back the good old days of stock British players - Charlton, Banks, Law, Styles, etc. Names now are mostly unpronounceable. British players may be rubbish, so who's fault is that? Change it!

He's committed. Not sure to what, but certainly committed. Will end up being another £££ chaser as soon as a big offer comes his way.Not sure he's a genuinely dirty player, just not very good at tackling & has a questionable moral compass. Not having a great season so far (in common with his team mates) & frustration sets in. Unfortunately that manifests itself in aggression towards opponents

He is a coward, who attempts to get opposition players booked and/or sent off. Like many nowadays it is all about winning, even if he has to feign and simulate, comes with playing for Mourinho i suppose. Despicable payer who,like many others, does not have to act like that, but until the FA grow a pair and start retrospective bans, proper bans, it will continue, and clean yourself up !!

Could we re-write this article as were the FA to lenient when dealing with Diego Costa?

In this match against Arsenal he committed at least three acts of violent conduct. Aiming to elbow Koscielny in the face, chestbutting (if such a word exists) Koscielny and scratching Gabriel on the neck. A 3 match ban wasn't enough.

Then Mike Dean sent off Gabriel for raising the back of his leg atCosta